Full Moon Fling *Unedited*

They Come At Dawn, McGrath

Eoin's POV

"You can't do that, Jack!" I shout, ducking from the plate he's aimed at my head.  "You said a week!" I remind him.

"If they haven't worked it out by now, one more day won't make a difference!" He growls, pushing past me and out of the kitchen.  I look up at Egan, scowling at the smug look on his face.

"This is your fault." I snap at him and he shakes his head, sniggering.

"I'm not the one who pulled a Fife." He shoots back, smirking at me.

"No, you're just the one who put it in Jack's head to move the fucking date forwards." I hiss; God almighty, I want to smash his face into a wall.  Turn him into the demon pancake...

"Well," Egan shrugs.  "Jack's got a point.  One more day isnae going t'help them if they haven't worked it out already."

"But it's not fair!  Don't you remember anything about being human?" I demand, watching his eyes narrow.

"I wasn't human." Egan spits, his face twisting in disgust at the very thought of it.  "I was a wolf." He snarls, the scars on his face glistening as his temper sparks.  Great...I'm going to have to listen to the echo voices now.

"Because that's much better," I reply sarcastically, rolling my eyes as I lean against the chipped kitchen counter.

"Anythin's better than being a human!" Egan shouts and I wince.  You never really get used to one person being able to sound like a roomful of people; it always makes your ears hurt.  "Humans are weak!" He reminds me, his fist slamming into my ribs.  Sometimes, I think I got a stupid demon; Egan always seems to forget that I can't feel anything.

"Humans aren't weak." I tell him quietly, thinking about the one human I always see coming in and out of this house.  Jack's favourite wee slag; the slightly unhinged Chastity Destrius.  She has to be one of the toughest people that I've ever met aside from Alba.  She comes in every Wednesday morning, covered in bruises and burns, and disappears into Jack's room for an hour.  "They can take a hell of a lot before they break." I remind Egan as I think about some of the beatings Chas has walked in here after.

"But they break." Egan says simply as he walks out of the kitchen.

"And demons get dragged back to hell if they fuck up!" I call after him.  I'm not going to lie; watching Egan stiffen in fear makes me grin.  I don't blame him for being scared; there's a reason folk are scared of Death, and it isn't the fact that the only thing you can ever see of him are the huge, broken, maggot infested wings on his back.

It's the fact that he never tells you when he's coming, or why he's taking you now.

That's enough to scare just about anyone.

*****

How the hell am I going to tell Alba that she doesn't have any more time?  How does anyone tell anyone that there's no time left before hell breaks loose?

Will they even believe me?

Jesus, are they even going to let me in?  I wouldn't blame them if they didn't; they don't have many reasons to trust me.  The only good thing I think I've done for Alba Fife is leave her the hell alone.

But I can't leave her alone now that I know what I do, I remind myself as I walk through the forest.  I brought Erin back to Kinross with me; the stress in Crusher's pack house is getting to her.  She turned Chad into a bullfrog by accident yesterday and I had to fix it as well as get the blame for it.  It isn't my fault that Errie's a liability; dad's the reason she's wrecked.